Help with shore excursions please?

[StLucia]

Can anyone tell me when the shore excursions become available for booking? I assume the cost will be added to our shipboard account but if we change our mind is there any cost penalty?

 

Also what trips would you recommend for St Maartin, the only island on this cruise we haven't visited before?

 

We've been to Dominica on Carnival Destiny and did the Trafalgar Falls and Emerald pool trip, can anyone recommend any others apart from champagne snorkeling which seeems to be popular on our roll call? Dominica is the least favourite of the islands we have been to but we would like to find a trip that can make the most of this port visit. The town is very small but as we have 9 sea days on this cruise we don't really want to stay onboard.

[feebee_71]

Hi StLucia,

 

Excursions are usually activated via your cruise personaliser 12-14 weeks prior to your cruise (though sometimes it can be earlier if they are particularly organised!!).

 

You can pre-book either online, by returning the form in the 'Your Holiday Information' booklet (sent to you about the same time) or by phone. Bookings closed 5 days before the cruise but, occasionally, you can contact the office in Southampton and they will pass a message on to your ship if there is still availability for your chosen excursion.

 

Your excursions will be charged to you cabin account and there is no penalty for cancelling excursions if it is done before the Shore Excursions Desk onboard close bookings for a particular port (usually 2 days before that port). If you cancel after that time then you will be charged full cost.

 

According to new P&O policy anything pre-ordered for your cruise will be exempt from Portunus discount but this was not the case on my most recent cruises.

 

Feebee_71 :)

[Marmaduke]

So anything pre-ordered for your cruise is now exempt from Portunus discount ? When did this come into force and where did you read about it ?

If this is now the case it would surely put people off pre-booking excursions, I know I would rather wait until I board and then take a chance they are available.

[StLucia]

Thank you

Feebee that's very helpful. This is our first pando so the Portinus issue will not affect us.

 

Help with trips in Dominica and St Maartin would be appreciated.

[feebee_71]

Marmaduke,

 

This is a quote from a post on the P&O Community board and is where I found the information.............

 

Recently I requested a new copy of the portunus club guide.

I am just looking at it now and quote this section from it!!

 

Please note that discounts do not apply to medical services and products, visa arrangements, gratuities, casino, art sales or items ordered in advance of your holiday including shore excursions and products from our gift collection.

 

This is on page 13 of the booklet!!

 

Feebee_71

[BrianI]

Feebee

The Portunus conditions published on line do not mention shore excursions in that clause

5.3. Unless otherwise stated, an on board spend discount will not apply to medical services and products, visa arrangements, gratuities, casino (including bingo), art sales, to any purchases during inaugural events when a P&O Cruises ship is chartered or from the Gift Collection brochure, except as decided by P&O Cruises, from time to time.

http://www.pocruises.com/content/html/experiences/conditions.html

It would not make sense not to give the discount on advance bookings as this would be a disincentive to book early

Brian

[southwinds]

I think there is some confusion lately people who have got OBC on their account noticed that discounts dont apply to your account until the OBC is all spent up, as trips get put on your account early on, this means they eat up your OBC but you dont get discount until the OBC is spent. Many felt this ment they missed out getting discount on trips. For me I am glad to get them free by using my OBC.

For those who dont know OBC = On Board Credit... if you book on board you get given £100 for your future cruise, if you book early you get £100 to spend on the future cruies and if you have shares in Carnival Corp you get OBC to spend.

 

I think its this that people have been moaning about the discount comes off after you have spent your OBC. IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY OBC then you will get discount on anything on your account except for the items mentioned.

[LibraLass41]

To simplify.... all tours go on your shipboard account, and your discout - be it 5% for members, 7.5% Sapphire or 10% gold is deducted from your account..... I can't be bothered to worry about if this is a discount after my gift ofa booking discount and shareholders discount.... but YES discount comes off your total bill , and yes the shore excursions are on this bill.

[BrianI]

Sue,

The system was changed around April this year. You dont now get your Portunus discount off your total bill if you have OBC. You only get the discount after your OBC has been spent but it does not matter what gets put on your bill first be it trips or drinks or whatever.

Example

Total on board spend =£600

OBC =£150

Balance =£450

Portunus discount =£22.50 (assuming 5% but might be 7.5% or 10%)

You pay =£427.50

 

Under the previous system you would have got 5% of £600 and thus paid £420.

In effect you "lose" 5%, 7.5%, 10% of your OBC

 

Brian

[tom_uk]

Sue - can I just check something? You said:

 

To simplify.... all tours go on your shipboard account

 

Does that include tours booked in advance? We didn't book any tours at all for the 4-night Oriana cruise so I have no experience of P&O practice, but in the past when we've booked tours in advance e.g. on a Celebrity cruise we've paid for them in advance as well.

[BrianI]

Tom

Tours I have booked in advance on P&O have always gone on my onboard account, which means you don't pay for them until the end of your cruise. On the other hand when I booked in advance on Royal Caribbean, I had to pay at the time of booking. One of the many reasons I won't be going on RCI again in a hurry.

Brian

[LibraLass41]

Agree with Brian. They all go on your ship account.

 

If you don't get to a port , because the ship can't dock for example and you have a tour booked there, it will be automatically credited to you account and ofcourse you won't have to pay for it. This happened to us in Cannes, couldn't dock, had a tour booked for Monte Carlo, credited back the next day on the account.

[LibraLass41]

Sue,

The system was changed around April this year. You dont now get your Portunus discount off your total bill if you have OBC. You only get the discount after your OBC has been spent but it does not matter what gets put on your bill first be it trips or drinks or whatever.

Example

Total on board spend =£600

OBC =£150

Balance =£450

Portunus discount =£22.50 (assuming 5% but might be 7.5% or 10%)

You pay =£427.50

 

Under the previous system you would have got 5% of £600 and thus paid £420.

In effect you "lose" 5%, 7.5%, 10% of your OBC

 

Brian

 

Thanks Brian for that info... That seems fair enough, I wouldn't expect to get discount off free obc , and I'm ok about that....

[ccrystal]

Hi, when we went to St Maarten in February we chose the "Two Flags" tour which enabled us to visit both the dutch and french sides. We had a brilliant tour guide, plenty of information given, time to shop, time for a coffee and at the end of the tour you have a choice to stay in town or go back to the port.